Letter: Contractual right

Published: Sunday, Aug. 2 2015 12:46 p.m. MDT

In the "Debt limit" letter by Roland Kayser in the Oct. 9 Readers' Forum, and the article by Bob Bennett to which he refers, an effort is made to equate legislation passed by Congress with a contractual obligation. Contracts normally involve an agreement to pay for goods or services delivered. They are placed for a finite time. One Congress cannot commit a future Congress to continue the laws it has passed.

Isn't it interesting that no one complains when one Congress increases the amount of money paid out to people in the form of benefits or grants above what a previous Congress allowed, but when it comes time to reduce those freebies, it suddenly becomes impossible because we have a contractual right to receive what Congress has previously passed.